Calendar of Events

IIAC Individual Tournament

Sponsored by Tennis (women)

Repeats: Every day from October 5, 2012 to October 6, 2012.

Date: Friday, October 5, 2012

Time: All day

Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The Luther women’s tennis team closed out the fall portion of its season by competing in the IIAC Individual Tournament on Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Norse saw 16 players compete in the event with 10 singles players and five doubles teams participating in the “A” Flight.

Seven Norse players played in the first round of the “A” flight and five came away with victories, giving Luther eight players in the round of 16 for the second straight season. Adriana DePaolis rallied back to defeat Claire Evans of Wartburg (5-7, 6-2, (10-8) and Megan Wachholz gutted out a (1-6, 6-4, (10-4)) win against Dubuque’s Nichole Schmaltz. Olivia Heitz played a long match against Chelsea Johnson of Central, but outlasted her Dutch opponent in straight sets, winning (7-5, 7-5). Maggie Helms tallied a routine (6-1, 6-2) decision over Katherine Ross of Wartburg while Annie Whiteley put together a superb showing, knocking off Central’s Megan Davis (6-3, 6-3). Katy Lindstrom lost a tight match (3-6, 6-4, (10-2)) to Melissa Davis of Wartburg while Jenna Myers saw her second set rally fall just short in a (6-2, 6-4) loss to Coe’s Jordan Ferree.

With so many Norse competitors in the draw, the second round saw a pair of Luther vs. Luther match-ups with a pair of seniors prevailing against a pair of first years. Cassandra Chalhoub edged Helms (6-3, 7-5) while Elise Allen defeated Heitz (6-0, 6-2). Lola White-Baer was also a second round winner for Luther, beating Jenny Dallenbach of Wartburg by a (6-1, 6-2) margin.

Chalhoub and Allen continued to play well in the quarterfinals, each advancing with a straight set win. Chalhoub beat Loras’ Elizabeth Dickhut (6-3, 6-1) while Allen avenged an earlier loss by defeating Amy Sebastian of Coe (6-0, 6-4). Allen played one of her best matches of the fall in the semi-finals against Michelle Schupbach of Coe, the defending tournament champion, before falling just short in a (6-4, 4-6, (10-3)) decision. Chalhoub dropped her semi-final match to Coe’s Tai Lucero, who went on to win the tournament.

Allen and Helms led the way for Luther in the “A” Flight of the doubles competition, placing third in the event. After receiving a first round bye, they knocked off a pair of teammates in Heitz and Wachholz by an (8-4) score to advance to the semi-finals. Allen and Helms pushed Schupbach and Lucero, the two-time defending champions, to the wire before losing (8-6). They earned 3rd place when Coe’s duo of Sara Ohlman and Elizabeth Hoffmann withdrew from the 3rd place match.

Heitz and Wachholz fought back and forth with Dickhut and Est Mungai of Loras in the first round before picking up a (9-8) victory. Myers and Hailey Johnson were also first round winners, racing past Evans and Davis of Wartburg by an (8-2) margin.

Sarah Christopherson was the top performer for Luther in the “B” Flight singles competition, winning three matches to advance to the quarterfinals. She opened with an (8-1) win over Erin Vaage of Central and then upset Tiffany Bost of Simpson (8-3) in the Round of 32. Christopherson collected her third victory of the day with a (6-0, 6-1) decision against Caroline Rainey of Loras. Her tournament run finally came to an end when she lost (6-2, 7-5) to Central’s Anna Bowser in the quarterfinals. Bowser went on to placed 2nd in the event.

DePaolis and Kylie Kruse won a pair of doubles matches in the “B” Flight before falling to the eventual champions from Simpson. They began with an (8-3) win over Rachel Weglarz and Sarah Alt of Loras and then upset Haley Henrichs and Tasha Nelson of Buena Vista (8-4) in the Round of 16. Bost and Allison Anderson knocked out DePaolis and Kruse by an (8-4) margin in the quarterfinals.

Luther completes its fall season by finishing 10-1 overall and taking second in the IIAC with a 7-1 mark. The Norse will resume competition on March 9 with a trip to Winona, Minn., to play Winona State and UW-La Crosse.